Reflections, commentaries, critiques and ideas from 40 years experience in the fields of Community Development, Community Education and Social Justice. Useful tools and techniques that I have learnt also added occassionally.

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The name of this blog, Rainbow Juice, is intentional.The rainbow signifies unity from diversity. It is holistic. The arch suggests the idea of looking at the over-arching concepts: the big picture. To create a rainbow requires air, fire (the sun) and water (raindrops) and us to see it from the earth.Juice suggests an extract; hence rainbow juice is extracting the elements from the rainbow, translating them and making them accessible to us. Juice also refreshes us and here it symbolises our nutritional quest for understanding, compassion and enlightenment.

Tuesday, 6 June 2017

Why Wait for the Revolution?

Just a short musing this week.

Many years ago when I was a young, idealistic, impatient activist I recall
attending meetings of groups committed to social justice or similar causes. In
many of these groups we discussed our vision for the future, and compared the
present times with the times that were to come “after the revolution.” Those
three words – after the revolution – may not have been expressly said, but the
sentiment was there. Somehow, after all the strategies, goals and objectives
had been completed then the world would be a much better place.

What was this new world going to look like? It was going to be more
egalitarian, there would be no sexism, no racism, no oppression of any form.
People would be tolerant, caring, and loving. The world would be full of joy,
happiness and contentment. War would cease, peace would break out.

I remember thinking at the time that there was something odd about waiting
for this new world to appear. Why can we not do this now? I said to
myself. And I did just that – kept it to myself. I didn’t share my doubts. I
feared ridicule. I feared being told that I did not understand the dynamics of
social change.

Over the intervening decades I have re-membered more about myself and about
how we interact with one another and the world. I have also discovered links
between what is going on in our hearts and what is going on in the world. That
has been quite a journey. Often that journey has been joyful or exciting.
Sometimes it has been scary or frightening. A few times it has been painful –
physically, mentally, and especially emotionally. But it has been worth it.

That journey has led me back to the same thought. Why wait for the
revolution? Why not do this now? Why not be this
now? The difference now is that I am unafraid to speak this out, to declare
it. I am not fearful of being ridiculed or told that I do not understand.

Of course the other aspect to this question of “why wait for the
revolution?” concerns the word revolution itself. It is an
unfortunate word. It brings with it connotations of overthrow of governments,
bloodshed, violence, upheaval, pogroms, retaliation, reprisals and ultimately, a
replacing of one form of oppression with another, one set of oligarchs with
another set.

The interesting thing about this is that if we act now and be now, then there
is no need for revolution. There is nothing to overthrow any more. There is no
need for violence.

This understanding may be the most revolutionary thinking
that any of us can do.

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About Me

I have almost 40 years experience working (paid and unpaid, government and non-government) in community development/education and social justice fields. I have continued to keep myself abreast of philosophies and theories in these and related fields. This blogsite will offer ideas, thoughts, reflections on these fields as well as giving some tools and techniques. I don't pretend that these will be original but I do hope that they will be able to translate some of these diverse ideas into coherent forms accessible to workers in the areas.